


Loop

by PikaPals16



Category: Six - Marlow/Moss
Genre: ASD!Catherine Parr, But I'm not sure, Gen, How Do I Tag, I think that's what it's called, Sensory Overload, based on this one short on disney plus, idk what this au is, it's called loop, non-verbal autistic character, uhh summer camp sorta?, we need more anna and cathy content, you should go watch it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-08
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:28:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27932308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PikaPals16/pseuds/PikaPals16
Summary: Anna is the last one to arrive at the lake, and so is paired up with Cathy...the girl who doesn't talk.Okay.
Relationships: Anne of Cleves & Catherine Parr
Comments: 6
Kudos: 19





	Loop

**Author's Note:**

> ok, does anyone know where the whole "cathy has asd" thing came from? i'm not against it, i love the trope, but i'm just wondering y everyone started it?
> 
> and, like i said in the tags, this is based off of a pixar short film on disney+ called "loop", it's really good, and i suggest you go watch it (plus, it'll make more sense if you do)
> 
> there's a bit of a meltdown in it, so warning for that, but otherwise, enjoy!

_Woof woof woof_.

The sound of the ringtone, followed by the woofs, fill Cathy's ears, making her happy just like it always does. It's a constant comfort for her, so she always has it with her.

She flaps her hand with excitement, playing the sound again. _Woof woof woof_. Sitting in the canoe, waiting for someone to paddle her out, she looks out at the lake. One area along the edge of the lake is colored significantly more brightly than its surroundings. She really wants to go there.

_Woof woof woof_. She taps her phone again. _Woof woof woof_. She laughs at the sounds. Happy.

"Hey Cathy, Cathy?" She turns her head towards the counselor, still giggling and tapping her phone. _Woof woof woof_. "Why don't you turn around? I'm putting you with someone new." She watches as one kid runs up to their counselor, breathing heavily due to the running. Her hair is really short, and under her life jacket, she's wearing a red shirt. "Anna, you're late."

"I know, it's just, my phone died, and then-" Anna gives up on trying to explain herself as she sees the other campers farther out onto the lake. "Oh, I can catch up with them, no problem." She tries to move past the counselor to get to the canoes. "Just let me take the skimmer out and-"

"Hey hey," The counselor stops Anna's rambling and movement. "You're with Cathy today." Anna doesn't recognize the name right away, until her mind drifts to the one person she hasn't exactly done anything with.

"That girl who doesn't talk?" It's not like anyone hasn't tried to be friends or talk to her, she just doesn't exactly speak.

"Yeah. She loves canoeing too." Cathy rocks herself back and forth gently, turning her head away from the two. She knows they're talking about her. She knows that no one wants to spend time with her because she's different.

"Doesn't she always go with you?" Anna isn't opposed to having a different partner, in fact, she loves meeting new people. She just doesn't exactly know what to do about... _her_. Cathy. "H-How am I gonna-" Anna starts stammering as the counselor leads her towards the canoe that Cathy's sitting in.

"Just say hi." Is all they say as they reach the canoe. Cathy's wearing a blue t-shirt under her life jacket, her curly brown hair looks slightly messy, but Anna decides to keep that to herself.

"Um hey, I'm Anna." Anna holds out her hand, but Cathy makes a weird sound and leans away from her, looking towards the water. Cathy knows that Anna doesn't want to be friends or ride in the canoe with her, but she can't put her thoughts to words. "Uh, why is she sitting like that?" She whispers towards the counselor.

"So she can talk to you." Is what the counselor says as the red girl stands up to walk to the other side of the canoe. Anna's trying really hard to understand what's happening, but she can't piece anything together right now.

"I thought she didn't..." As Anna climbs into the canoe and takes the paddle, the counselor bends down in front of Cathy.

"Cathy." The blue girl looks up to the one person who's talked or spent time with her the entire time at camp. "You got this." And now she's going to talk with someone else. Don't screw this up. "Woof woof woof." 

The brunette giggles at the counselor's woof-ing, feeling happy again as they push the canoe out onto the lake. The short-haired girl mouths to herself in confusion. What does that mean?

_Woof woof woof_. Cathy presses her ringtone again, glad that they're finally moving. _Woof woof woof_. She lets out little noises of happiness, for a couple of reasons. Her ringtone, the canoe, the water, etc. At this point she kind of forgets that it's Anna in the boat and not the counselor.

"So......What's up Cathy?" Anna tries to make small talk with Cathy, or at least try to get her to talk. She doesn't respond with words, but with a sound that Anna can only describe as a weird moan.

It's not like Cathy can help it. She can't exactly put her thoughts to words, as said before. She can't really process it.

Anna looks back at where they started, and sees the counselor standing on the edge of the dock, watching the two. Well, no going back now.

She looks at the other kids, and wonders if she should just try and follow them, or actually try to do something with Cathy.

"Cathy." The blue girl keeps making cheerful noises. Her eyes are focused on the edge of the lake that's the most vibrant in color. They're getting closer to it, she's so close. "Cathy."

Anna gently hits the paddle on the side of the canoe to get Cathy's attention. Having gotten it, she continues to try and make conversation.

"What do you wanna do?" Anna's asking what she wants. If she could just tell her, then she could reach the edge of the lake. If she could just....speak. Except the only sounds that come out of her mouth are frustrated groans and whines, and why can't she just be normal? "Man...." Anna says with a sigh.

She quickly thinks over her options, but the sad truth that she just doesn't understand Cathy and doesn't know how to talk to her wins over, and she makes her decision.

"All right. How 'bout we do a quick paddle demo and get you back to camp?" She swears it's not an excuse to get rid of Cathy so she can catch up with the others. It's just that Cathy's a lot, and she doesn't want to do something that will make her upset, whereas their counselor knows exactly what to do.

There's no response after that, not even a sound. Cathy's sort-of smile is what Anna takes as a yes.

"Ever seen the Canadian?" _Woof woof woof_. Cathy presses her ringtone again, waving her hand slightly above the water, palm down. "It's really just a modified J-stroke, not _that_ cool. How 'bout, how 'bout a stern pry? It's, it's like a bow pry, but like from the back." Anna finds herself rambling as she demonstrates--this is something she really loves after all. "You gotta watch out with the cross draw 'cause it can tip you, like, so easy."

Cathy isn't going to lie, she would've really enjoyed the presentation if the boat was spinning so fast. She grips onto the side of the boat and starts rocking it hard.

"Cathy, be careful!" Anna stops the spinning as Cathy's distress and sighs. She really thought that they were making progress, but apparently she'd just made Cathy uncomfortable. "Maybe I should just take you back."

The blue girl starts rocking the boat again, since it seemed to get her attention earlier. She doesn't understand.

"Okay okay I hear you!" The boat stops rocking. Cathy looks towards the paddle, still unable to make eye contact. "Cathy, if you wanna do something, like, specific......You gotta help me out!"

The brunette whimpers slightly, then looks to the edge of the lake she wants to go to, towards her left. Her eyes catch sight of the porta-potty next to it and figures that that would be a good excuse to head over there.

She makes a few taps on her phone, then looks away as she holds it out for Anna to take. Not wanting to make Cathy more uncomfortable, Anna holds out the paddle, and the former is able to lay the phone on top of it.

"Oh!" Anna's eyes widen slightly, seeing the picture of the poop emoji, whilst Cathy exclaims happily, her arms shaking with joy, that she'd understood her. "Okay." Cathy beams, taking her phone back and playing her ringtone. _Woof woof woof_.

She coos happily as the canoe gets closer. Closer to the weeds, the very things that she had wanted so badly. She reaches her arms out one side of the canoe, tingling and exclaiming happily at the feeling of the plants brushing against her skin.

"Uh wanna hop out here and do your thing?" Anna asks as she slows the canoe down. Cathy immediately becomes distressed, grunting and reaching the other way. "But we're..." The blue girl, cries out, almost begging for the red to go back. "Oh man, you didn't even need to-"

Then the one slightly short amongst them gives Anna a pleading look, eyes wide. Anna chuckles slightly, smiling at the clever move Cathy had pulled to get them there in the first place.

"You're a trip, Cathy." Is what she says as she starts to back up, Cathy reaching her arms out right as the canoe starts moving again. When they reach the end, Anna tries to get them to leave, "All right, maybe we should-" 

She's cut off by Cathy, who's trying her hardest to reach towards the weeds...again.

"Seriously?" The brunette lets out a high-pitched whine, almost sounding like a crying dog. This time she doesn't even need to look back at Anna to convince her because the canoe starts moving into the weeds again. "Last time, Cathy."

A number of coos are released from Cathy's mouth as she, again, delights in the sensation of the weeds brushing against her fingertips. Curious, Anna hesitantly reaches her arm out as well, wanting to know why Cathy liked doing this so much. It feels nice, she finds. Relaxing.

_Woof woof woof_. The blue girl's ringtone snaps Anna out of that trance. _Woof woof woof_. The short-haired girl takes that as an 'okay' to leave.

"All right." Anna guides the canoe out, smile on her face. _Woof woof woof._ Maybe she's doing a good job. _Woof woof woof_. Meanwhile, Cathy brings the phone up to her ear as she taps it again.

That's when Anna gets an idea that she's pretty sure the girl in front of her will enjoy.

"Cathy, Cathy." She gently taps on the brunette's knee with the paddle. Seeing the other flinch, the taller of the two makes a mental note not to do that anymore, as she speaks in a softer voice. "I know where that would sound really cool."

Smiles are shared between the two and Anna rows the canoe towards a sort of 'manufactured' tunnel. The concrete wall on the outside is decorated with graffiti, but the inside is nice and smooth. Once inside, the red girl prompts the other.

"Okay. Now do it." Cathy tilts her head in confusion. "The ringtone?" Anna holds up her hand and gestures to her palm, as if she were tapping her own ringtone.

Looking down to her phone, she taps it. _Woof woof woof_. Cathy's eyes widen as the sound echoes in the tunnel. _Woof woof woof_. She presses it again, marveling at the sound.

"You like it?" Anna holds her hand up straight and waves it a bit, having picked up on some of the gestures Cathy tends to do. The blue girl hums, her hand waving around as well. "Yeah, me too. It's, you know, a good place to be when there's too much other, um, stuff happening."

Cathy looks towards Anna, not making eye contact, she hasn't been able to do that yet, but she looks at her. This is Anna's safe space, and she's sharing it with _her_. Of course, she won't understand what Cathy understands to be, a meltdown.

But this look only last for a second or two before Cathy goes back to playing her ringtone. _Woof woof woof. Woof woof woof_.

"Woof woof woof." Anna says just loud enough that Cathy hears, making her smile a bit before a very unpleasant sound fills her ears. The sound of the motor gets louder and louder, and it's too loud for Cathy.

She groans as a high-pitched screeching screams inside of her head. She starts rocking the canoe, her hands on her ears and trying to block out the sound. It's too much. It's too much.

"I-It's cool Cathy. We just stay here." Anna tries to assure Cathy, seeing that's she's freaking out at the sound of the motor. She doesn't fully understand why, but her partner is clearly panicking, and what's important is that she tries to calm her down.

Cathy shakes her head. It's too much. She doesn't want to be here. She needs to get out. Grabbing the canoe paddle, Cathy starts to row them out of the tunnel.

"Don't worry, Cathy. Don't-" Anna cuts herself off, clearly that isn't going to help her case right now. "Cathy. What are you doing?" At this point Anna's starting to freak out a bit too, because what is Cathy doing?

Cathy's trying to escape. She's trying to escape the noise. But the noise just keeps getting louder. She needs to get out quicker.

"Cathy watch out!" Seeing her moves becoming a bit quicker, Anna grabs her paddle and starting rowing the other way to avoid a collision. "The boat!" As the boat approaches, Cathy covers her ears, pressing as hard as she can.

Unfortunately for them, they end up crashing into the shore, the canoe tipping and both girls falling out. When Cathy presses herself up from the ground and opens her eyes, she's met with a very distressed Anna.

"Why'd you do that?!" The accusatory tone makes Cathy scream. It's too loud. She did something wrong. The brunette presses her hands to her ears again, continuing to scream. "Cathy! Cathy!" Anna changes her tone slightly, seeing the reaction it had. "Calm down. We're okay."

The wrong move she makes is trying to grab Cathy's wrist. The latter swats her hand away, flinging her arms around and finding the nearest object to throw. Which happens to be her phone.

"Why are you getting so mad?" Cathy's noises of distress don't cease as she throws her phone in Anna's general direction, only for it to land in the lake. "Oh no. No!" Anna exclaims as both of them realize what had just happened. 

Cathy starts crying as her action gets processed into her mind. The phone with her ringtone is gone. She threw it out. She did that. She did something wrong.

Her crying continues even louder as she crawls to the canoe and pulls it on top of her, it serving as a hiding spot. Anna also crawls over to her, apologizing.

"I'm so sorry Cathy! Please stop crying." Cathy puts her hands over her head when Anna holds her hand out. "Hey, let's just...get back in the canoe." Cathy cries a bit harder, causing Anna to pace in frustration.

Not at Cathy though. She understood that much to know she couldn't help it. The frustration is definitely directed towards herself for not being able to calm the girl down. So she just waits.

She comes to the conclusion that trying won't help her. So she'll just stay here waiting until she calms down, or tires herself out, or something. That way Anna can bring both of them back safely.

The short haired girl ends up waiting for a long time.

Her hand fidgets with a weed similar to the ones that Cathy loved touching. Actually scratch that, it's definitely the same kind. The red girl looks back at the whimpering one under the canoe, and in a quick decision, snaps the top half off. 

Anna brings it with her as she walks back to the canoe, sitting with her back against it.

"Hey. Cathy....I don't know what to do." Anna taps the weed on the ground in front of Cathy's face, hoping that she's listening. Or trying to listen. "I messed up." Cathy's no longer making cries or whimpers, but her breath is still heavy. "But you....can be....kind of, intense, you know?"

Anna hopes that her words of choice aren't ones that will make her upset. But with the continued silence, albeit Cathy's heavy breathing and the natural sounds of nature, she just continues talking.

"Sorry." Cathy sniffles a bit before Anna's voice continues to fill her ears. Her tone is a bit comforting for the blue girl. It's nice how she didn't continue to yell after she flinched and did all those things before. "Anyways...I think I'm just gonna hang out and wait until you tell me what you want."

Cathy sees Anna let go of the weed, leaving it in front of her face. And then she just waits. She waits more. Cathy takes the weed and holds it close to her. She's not in a meltdown, that's for sure, but she's still not ready to come out yet.

And that's fine with Anna, because she just waits more. Cathy doesn't remember anyone being this patient with her. Well except her parents, siblings, and the counselor, but that's because they have to. Anna doesn't. But she's waiting anyway.

That's something she appreciates a lot. 

A few minutes later Cathy tilt the canoe and comes out from underneath, sitting next to Anna. Neither of them speak, the only interaction being Anna's glances at Cathy, who's fiddling with the weed.

But then Cathy makes a sound that's vaguely familiar to Anna. Looking at the shorter girl, she sees Cathy tapping her hand (the one with the weed in it) before making the sound, identical to the first one.

"Hey, are you okay?" Cathy's unable to make eye contact, but she taps Anna with the weed, as she makes her noise again. Oh. Her ringtone. She's mimicking her ringtone. The next time Cathy imitates the first part of the ringtone, Anna adds on. "Woof woof woof."

"Woof woof woof." Cathy repeats. Anna chuckles at how happy Cathy seems to be now, following the latter's lead in standing up. The blue girl coos and for the first time, locks eyes with Anna, and puts a little crooked smile on her face.

Anna smiles back. Maybe this means that they're friends now. She'd really like that. And maybe, Cathy would like that too.

"Come on, let's get back on the lake." The two push the canoe into the water, only now realizing the sun setting. Turns out they were out there a lot longer than they thought.

They start to row back to the dock, but not without taking the time to enjoy the sunset, and each other's presences. Anna looks back at Cathy one last time, who's cooing happily.

Yeah.

This is one day she'll never forget.

And that's a good thing.

* * *

* * *

_Woof woof woof_.

Catalina looks at Cathy's phone, recognizing the ringtone from anywhere. The notification is a text. From Anna. Of course.

The two have gotten a lot closer since the day they met. And while Catalina doesn't mean to intrude, she ends up reading the text to see what it says.

**Anna❤️❤️** **:** can u 🛶 at 3?

**Anna❤️❤️** **:** 🐶 🐶 🐶 

Yes, Cathy would love that.

"Hey Cathy! You have a message from Anna!" Cathy runs up, exclaiming excitedly and giggling. She reads the text, having found it easier to read whenever Anna uses emojis. The brunette happily types a response (not noticing Catalina smiling at the sight).

**Cathy💙💙:** yes! 🐶 🐶 🐶 

She can't wait.

**Author's Note:**

> i need more of this pairing.  
> and if anyone wants to ship it, i propose the name is clevarr (but pronounced like cleaver the weapon, since kat/anna is katanna which is a sword)
> 
> and if there're any inaccuracies, pls tell me, i'm not that familiar with asd, a lot of it i just got from six fics and the video


End file.
